Northern Sands Wisconsin still working on Howard sand mine license application

By LeAnn R. Ralph

TOWN OF HOWARD   — Northern Sands Wisconsin is still working on the sand mine license application for the proposed 1,300-acre frac sand mine southeast of Colfax in the Town of Howard.

The application has not yet been submitted to the Town of Howard but will be finished soon, perhaps by Friday, said Tom Gapinske of Northern Sands Wisconsin at the Howard Town Board’s May 15 meeting.

Northern Sands Wisconsin is proposing to develop a 1,300-acre sand mine that would stretch north and south along the Chippewa County and Dunn County line directly east of the intersection of county Highway N and county Highway A.

Gapinske said he wanted clarification on the fees that must be submitted with the mine license application.

The fee for the license to mine is $500, and another $5,000 is for the base administrative fee. But what is the amount of the supplemental administrative fee? he asked.

When the Red Flint Group had been planning to operate the Albertville Valley sand mine, the company made a check out to the Town of Howard for $20,000, said Dennis Dvoracek, town board supervisor.

Red Flint is no longer associated with the proposed sand mine, and the Town of Howard never cashed the check, he said.

Northern Sands Wisconsin is the second company interested in developing the sand mine.

Northern Sands, the first company that proposed the Albertville Valley Sand Mine, was sued by an investor for $1.875 million plus interest in August of 2017.

Northern Oak Proppants LLC filed the lawsuit against Northern Sands LLC in Chippewa County for breach of contract.

Reclamation permit

Northern Sands Wisconsin is a separate company from Northern Sands although it has some of the same investors and developers, and the company also is apparently able to operate under the same mine reclamation permit issued to Northern Sands by Chippewa County Land Conservation and Forest Management.

Chippewa County held a public hearing on the reclamation plan for the proposed Albertville Valley sand mine in July of 2015 and approved the reclamation permit in December of 2015.

The nonmetallic mine reclamation permit required Northern Sands to complete an assessment of the biological resources at the mine site along with an inventory of the seeps, springs, wetlands and surface waters located within the mine boundaries and adjacent properties.

The original deadline for submitting the reports was July 31, 2016, although the deadline was subsequently extended to December 31, 2017.

According to a letter dated March 13, 2018, from Chippewa County Land Conservation and Forest Management to Tom Gapinske of Northern Sands Wisconsin, LLC, “our review has found that this submittal is deficient in meeting multiple conditions of Permit#2015-01.”

For reasons that were not stated on the record, members of the Howard Town Board were hesitant to have Northern Sands develop and operate the frac sand mine but were more comfortable with the idea of Red Flint Group operating in the township.

Admin fee

Northern Sands has two bills with the Town of Howard which have not yet been paid. One is an engineering bill and one is a legal bill, Gapinske told the Howard Town Board at the May 15 meeting.

Northern Sands Wisconsin will “make good” on the payment of out-of-pocket expenses for the Town of Howard incurred as a result of Northern Sands seeking to develop the sand mine, he said.

Northern Sands Wisconsin would be happy “to make the town whole,” Gapinske said.

The issue is not so much past expenses, but how will Northern Sands Wisconsin reimburse the Town of Howard for future expenses, said Tom Zwiefelhofer, town board supervisor.

Gapinske again questioned the purpose of the $5,000 required to be submitted with the mine license application.

The $5,000 will be used to cover the expense of hiring engineers to review the mine license application said Susan Haake, town clerk.

Putting $15,000 to $20,000 in an escrow account will make the application process less complicated, said Ron Koshoshek, the township’s mining consultant.

If the associated fees to review the application reach or exceed $5,000, but there is no money in an escrow account, then the Town of Howard will have to spend time “going after” more money from Northern Sands Wisconsin, he said.

Gapinske said he still was not sure how the $5,000 fee fit into the application process.

If the town board needs additional funds, “tell me how much,” Gapinske said.

“You tell me how much, and I will write the check,” he said.

In response to a question from Zwiefelhofer about when the application might be submitted to the Town of Howard, Gapinske said he expected to give it to the clerk on Friday so the clerk would have time to proceed with distributing it to town board members so they could review it before the next town board meeting in June.

Public review

Town of Howard resident Willem Gebben asked if members of the public also would have an opportunity to review the Northern Sands Wisconsin mine license application.

The township will hold public hearings on the license application, Haake said.

Haake added she would appreciate receiving the license application as a digital file and noted the mine license application is a public record, “so yes, it will be available to the public.”

A paper copy should be given to the town board as well, she said.

Gapinske said he would submit the application with the ordinance requirement of $5,500 and “would anticipate” an administrative fee.

Red Flint gave a check for $20,000 — “why not from Northern Sands Wisconsin?” Zwiefelhofer asked.

Gapinske said he needed to know a specific amount and how it would be spent.

“I am looking for clarity,” he said.

Dvoracek reiterated the Howard Town Board is looking for a check for $20,000.

“We do not want to be reimbursed. We want the money up front,” he said.

A member of the audience asked who the Town of Howard planned on hiring to review the mine license application.

The township’s attorney will review the application, said Vernon Schindler, town chair.

The attorney may also recommend other reviews, Haake said.

The town board has hired someone to review the reclamation permit, but the license will not be granted until the reports required by the reclamation permit have been received, Koshoshek said.

Northern Sands Wisconsin must have the state level permits in place before the company can begin mining sand, Gapinske said.

The start date for the Albertville Valley sand mine is projected to be the third quarter of 2019, he said.

The mine license cannot be issued until the other problems with the reclamation permit conditions are solved, Koshoceck said.